Agenda/Minutes

RCHS PTSA

General Meeting Minutes

May 2019

Location: RCHS Library

Date and Time: May 13, 2019, 6:30pm

Attendees -Executive Board: Jenny Mastin, Julie Woodzicka, Tammi Hellwig, Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl, Molly Kay Moore, Mike Craft (RCHS Principal), Natalie Fleshman (student representative); Additional attendees:  Chris Gallagher, Pamela St. Clair, Kim Troise, Ellen Satrom, Ellen Mayock, Pat Bradley, 2 SCA Student Representatives, 1 RCHS Student

• Call to order.
• Approval of Minutes from April.
• Public Comments. None.
• Principal’s report (Mr. Craft)
  • Ingrid Sukow was selected for the Latin Governor’s School
  • SOL testing started last week and AP testing recently started
  • Earth Day was celebrated April 22^nd with students having an hour of unstructured time to participate in activities inside and outside of the building
  • The music program visiting NY over spring break and scored an exemplary rating
  • Announced students that have been selected for governor’s school, various scholarships
  • Highlighted recent programs
  • Culinary arts – advanced technique programs from Homestead Resort
  • Free dual enrollment next year
  • Latin testing – extremely high scores by RCHS students
  • Installed a film on exterior windows and doors to be shatterproof/high impact resistant as part of ongoing safety initiatives.
  • Charlie Mayock-Bradley – won a major Spanish honor society scholarship
• Executive Committee Report
  • Treasurer’s report (Jenny Mastin)
    • $816 for Wildcat Inspiration Award ceremony
    • Hospitality had some items donated recently and reduced expenses
    • $3500 for Triple A Entertainment with about $2,000 more expenses to come in for After Prom
    • Annual tax report to follow
    • Ending balance – will be approximately $8,000-$9,000
  • New Business
    • Vote: PTSA Officers for the next academic year
      • Still needed treasurer, fundraising chair
      • Now have a co-president structure
      • Need to vote on new officers.
      • Tinni Sen – co-President with Valentina.
      • Megan Vaught (secretary)
        • Valentina, Tinni, and Megan APPROVED – 16 voted in favor (no opposition).
        • Still looking for treasurer.
      • Vote on PTSA dues increase from $5 to $7 (individual) and from $20 to $30 (family) in response to potential National PTA dues increase from $2.25 to $3.75. Executive Committee is recommending dues increase locally as a result.
        • We have not been able to get the Ford fundraiser despite several attempts to schedule it (lost revenue) and have increased our expenses due to expanded and necessary teacher support. In addition, the National PTA is considering increasing our dues (current RCHS PTSA dues will not be able to cover the portion that we owe to the National and Virginia PTA)
        • Dues increase APPROVED (16 voted in favor; no opposition)
      • After Prom (Carol Penney)
        • Entertainment set up – slow start. 190 kids attended. 50 stayed until 2:30 am. Carol will attend a finale event with students that were part of the raffle for a potential car. Named and thanked the sponsors that supported the event and parents that donated gift cards and time.
        • Others are interested in helping next year. Considering looping the event into the fundraising committee.
          • Suggestions made for better marketing to students – explain giveaways, that you don’t have to sign up in advance, etc.
          • St Clair noted that the SCA could announce
          • Perhaps put the car in the commons area
        • Wildcat Inspiration Award (Courtney Diette)
          • 13 teachers recognized. Each student read a piece of their letter.
          • 3 teachers received special awards
        • Senior Award (Julie Woodzicka)
          • Senior Award student has been named. Will be announced at senior night.
        • Discussion of non-discrimination statement (sent to us by a community group)
          • New proposed statement reviewed by the participants
          • A suggestion was made to consider adding political beliefs as part of an additional statement. Is not a protected class, so greater discussion may be needed about the appropriate placement.
          • The link in the current statement on the RCHS website is broken.
          • Some student groups reviewed the statement and made suggestions for modifications; support the new proposed statement.
          • Motion made to suggest to School Board to review and update its current non-discrimination statement, and for the PTSA Executive Board be charged with taking into consideration discussion from meeting and drafting a letter recommending to the School Board what we feel should be taken into account.
            • 11 voted in favor; APPROVED.
          • Discussion of dress code (parent complaints, how to move forward)
            • Note that this will NOT be a Q&A with the administration about the dress code but rather a discussion of how the PTSA wants to proceed.
            • SCA Officers addressed dress code, which the student organization helped revised last year. SCA’s focus last year was on proposing gender neutral recommendations. The SCA would like to find a solution that makes all students feel welcome and heard.
              • Participants noted that the new code is a significant improvement from the previous version of the dress code.
            • Discussion about the dress code proceeded.
              • SCA presented a statement with respect to their efforts to assist and take into account multiple points of view in their proposed revisions last year. SCA has been listening to student concerns this past year. SCA would like to assist and consider all students’ concerns, but does not want to be ultimately responsible for continuous revisions of the code (the school board has sole authority to revise the dress code).
              • Issues raised by participants in the discussion :
                • Mission/rationale for the dress code not clearly outlined
                • Focus of the dress code continues to be gendered
                • Takes away from the educational mission (students should not miss class time for dress code violations)
                • Inconsistent enforcement
                • Lack of teacher involvement and training
                • Numerical data on reporting and violations should be collected; otherwise it is impossible to detect patterns/flaws
                • Difficult to find clothing to fit parameters, especially for young women
                • Reporting mechanism flaws
                  • In response, others noted that the teachers are doing their best to enforce discreetly and that there are varying points of view as to what is an appropriate dress code
                • The Principal noted that every effort has been made to make sure harm is not done to any child (including by him personally) and that the students’ education is a primary concern. In addition, he stated that the dress code continues to be on the table for review. However, he expressed frustration over the manner in which the concerns have been raised.
                • Discussion also surrounded the need for more data on how the dress code is working/not working. For example, once a policy is in place for the first time, it is often appropriate after a year to assess and consider necessary changes.
                • Suggestion made to form a committee to review to consider how to address. Another suggestion was made for the PTSA Executive Committee to draft a letter to the School Board.
                • Motion made for PTSA Executive Committee to craft a letter to the School Board requesting an examination of the current dress code in light of questions and concerns that have arisen this evening and over the course of the year with respect to mission, text of code and enforcement. APPROVED.

Committees Reports (none)

• Fundraising
• Hospitality
• Facebook
• Media/Communications
• After-Prom
• Wildcat Inspiration Award
• Faculty Representative
• Student Vice President

ADJOURNED.